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Friday, July 24, 2009

Dragonfly

"Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragonflyHangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky."~Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Silent Noon

Dragonflies have an interesting history in our culture. Listen to what Wikipedia has to say on the topic:

For some Native American tribes they represent swiftness and activity, and for the Navajo they symbolize pure water. Dragonflies are a common motif in Zuni pottery; stylized as a double-barred cross, they appear in Hopi rock art and on Pueblo necklaces.[6] It is said in some Native American beliefs that dragonflies are a symbol of renewal after a time of great hardship.

They also have traditional uses as medicine in Japan and China. In some parts of the world they are a food source, eaten either as adults or larvae; in Indonesia, for example, they are caught on poles made sticky with birdlime, then fried in oil as a delicacy.[3]

Vietnamese people have a traditional way to forecast rain by seeing dragonflies: "Chuồn chuồn bay thấp thì mưa, bay cao thì nắng, bay vừa thì râm" (Dragonflies fly at low level, it is rainy; dragonflies fly at high level, it is sunny; dragonflies fly at medium level, it is shadowy).

In some parts of the world it is considered lucky to have a dragonfly land on you, even to the point of yielding seven years of good luck.

In the United States dragonflies and damselflies are sought out as a hobby similar to birding and butterflying, known as oding, from the dragonfly's Latin species name, odonata. Oding is especially popular in Texas, where 225 out of a total of 457 known species of odonates in the world have been observed. With care, dragonflies can be handled and released by Oders, like butterflies.[7] The band, Coheed & Cambria, uses a dragonfly as one of their symbols.

Images of dragonflies were common in Art Nouveau, especially in jewelry designs.[8] They have also been used as a decorative motif on fabrics and home furnishings.[9]

It is always a good day, if you have learned something in the process. Today, we learned something together...

Yesterday I put the finishing touches on Dragonfly, the pattern I have developed especially for EarthFaire. Ellen is one of my best vendors and she has long lamented the fact that so many of my beaded patterns are exclusive to Knitty Noddy. So I promised her an exclusive of her own.

Ellen has ordered lots of Schaefer's Anne yarn in this glorious seafoam green color, and (I believe - could be wrong - it has happened before- undoubtedly will again) she will be offering kits for the project in her store. Including the beads, which came out a little more than I intended.

Sorry, but the dragonfly's wings just HAVE to sparkle in the sun!

See what I mean?

DRAGONFLY SCARF/STOLE$6pattern available at Earthfaire, on the sidebar (over there>>>>>) and on Ravelry

3 comments:

I send you a message on ravelry a few days ago....I 've bought dragonfly pattern on ravelry and I wondered if I could knit him with knitpick lace , because it seem to me that this yarn would be so thin and fragil for accept 6000 beads???I know you are on holidays and I hope you will enjoy this time spend with your family....I am not in a hurry...Answer me when you come back and very good vacations....Anne ( anneleterme on ravelry)

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About Me

writer, knitter, designer, Quaker, mother of two, wife of one, seeker of enlightenment, child of God (not neccesarily in that order) I am a classically trained musician,who used to sing opera. Graduate of the WORD program in writing as ministry at Earlham School of Religion. I am 54 years young.
My Ravelry name is pandosu